


Children of Janus

by giftheck



Series: Seeds Of The Future [2]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:54:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23655679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giftheck/pseuds/giftheck
Summary: Jack Savage comes across a portal, and through that portal, he finds out about the future and meets some unexpected faces. Meanwhile, Nick and Judy are investigating a series of murders. Are the two connected? Sequel to Futures Past.
Relationships: Jack Savage/Skye, Judy Hopps/Nick Wilde
Series: Seeds Of The Future [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1609945
Comments: 44
Kudos: 39





	1. A New Future (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the sequel to Futures Past! Thanks to everybody who reviewed the previous story, your remarks made it worth it, and it made me want to take the next step in this world.
> 
> Special thanks goes to J Shute who made some great suggestions for this chapter.
> 
> And with that out of the way, let’s get on with the show.

**CHILDREN OF JANUS**

**A New Future (Part 2)**

_The future_

“ _Security alert! Intruder in the facility!_ ”

Klaxons blared as security ran around the Biologics Wing of Neo Zootopia Sciences, trying to find the intruder.

The facility, located in a tower in Central Neo Zootopia, was split up into four distinct Wings: the Biologics Wing dealt with biological research. In particular, they specialised in cloning for the sake of limb and organ replacement. The Technologic Wing was where new technologies were designed, sometimes crossing over into the other Wings. The Chemistry Wing dealt with chemical concoctions for use in pharmaceuticals. The fourth Wing was for Temporal Research.

“Darn it! He’s given us the slip!” a ram growled. “What species is he anyway?”

“If you’re done making excuses,” a lion retorted, “then let’s get this rat!”

“We don’t even know if it _is_!” the ram replied.

“Shut it and keep searching!”

The two mammals parted ways. The lion headed towards the offices of the head scientists, intending to conduct his search there. One by one, he cleared them all.

Reaching the last office on the floor, the office that belonged to Doctor Blackpaw, he was about to swipe himself in when he noticed the door was already ajar. Unholstering his stun weapon, the lion carefully opened the door.

He was unprepared for the sight that met him.

Doctor Blackpaw was an older black-footed ferret. The emphasis on ‘was’ – since he was also emphatically dead, blood covering his clothes from a stab wound to the chest, the blade’s handle sticking out.

“I need security to sweep the floor _immediately_ , and a medical team to Doctor Blackpaw’s office _now_!” the lion shouted into his communicator.

“ _Security breach into the Temporal Research Wing!_ ” came out over the tannoy. “ _Lockdown is in effect._ ”

“ _Sir,_ ” came the voice of the ram security guard, “ _we’ve got the perpetrator on holo-footage. We’re looking for a mustelid. Looks like it might be a young weasel, or ferret._ ”

“He’s just broken into the Temporal Research Wing,” the lion spoke into the communicator. “Get the junior cops in on it.”

******

_Temporal Research Wing_

“Well, this is us, then,” a rabbit remarked.

“Can’t say I’m unhappy that they’ve had us sitting around for ages,” a fox yawned.

“Nick, you’ve got to be the laziest fox I know,” the rabbit sighed.

“That’s ‘Mister Laziest Fox’, Carrots,” Nick replied.

“Nick, I’d appreciate it if you called me ‘Judy’ sometimes,” the rabbit huffed. “‘Carrots’ is just a little insulting.”

“I thought you liked my nicknames for you,” Nick tilted his head.

“I… okay, maybe I don’t mind them, but others might think you’re insulting me,” Judy argued.

“Meh, let them think what they want, Carrots,” Nick replied. “Any idea who we’re looking for?”

“They said mustelid over the radio, so probably a weasel or ferret,” Judy said. “Let’s get to it.”

“Don’t you mean ‘let’s hop to it’?” Nick replied, earning a dig to the ribs in response.

“ _Warning, Temporal Chamber has been accessed,_ ” the Wing’s tannoy called out.

“He… doesn’t know how to operate that thing, right?” Nick asked.

“I’m not waiting to find out,” Judy answered, speeding off towards the stairs that would take her a floor up to the Temporal Chamber. Nick shook his head.

“Same old, same old…” he muttered as he followed Judy up the stairs. He drew his weapon – a non-lethal stun gun. Upon reaching the floor housing the Temporal Chamber, the pair made sure the way was clear before they proceeded towards the doors, which were ajar. A shimmering light penetrated the opening.

Nick and Judy nodded to each other, raised their weapons and entered the chamber.

There were scientists inside. They were all dead. But that wasn’t what drew Nick and Judy’s attention.

Hovering above a platform in the centre of the laboratory was a shimmering light with what appeared to be shards of glass floating lazily around it.

“What… is that?” Judy wondered.

“This, Carrots, is a Time Portal,” Nick replied in awe. “Been a long time since I saw one.”

The portal suddenly contracted, and with a sound like slashing glass, the portal disappeared.

“Well, that’s the end of that, then,” Nick remarked.

“Can’t be… I’m not letting this one get away!”

Judy shuffled round to a nearby panel.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Nick raised an eyebrow.

“Can’t be that hard,” Judy replied, her eyes scanning the panel’s screen. She spotted a blinking icon and pushed it.

‘ _WARNING: THIS WILL REACTIVATE THE PORTAL BUT MAY NOT OPEN IT IN THE EXACT TIME-SPACE. PROCEED?_ ’ the screen read.

“Yes, please,” Judy pressed the screen to confirm. She looked up and watched as a beam shot from the machine on the edge of the platform. A light formed, and glass-like shards expanded out from it.

“Well…” Judy stepped forward.

“Carrots, you’re not going in there, are you?” Nick said, a slight panic in his voice. “We don’t even know where this thing goes! Does that screen tell you?”

“Nope, but we still have a perp to catch,” Judy replied. “But it’s saying that if we hurry we can get close, and I’m not letting a criminal get away just because he decided to time-hop.”

“Last time you acted this recklessly, you almost ran two trains into each other!” Nick protested.

“It’s this, or letting a criminal loose in whatever time this portal leads to,” Judy retorted. “You know better than anyone what kind of damage can be done by someone in the past with a bad motive! You wanna risk this portal leading to the future? The past can be damaged, the future can be changed. I don’t want to find out, so I’m going through. I’d like to have my _partner_ with me when I do it.”

Nick sighed in defeat.

“Fine…” Nick relented. “Once more unto the breach, dear Hopps. Once more unto the breach.”

******

_A month before the present day_

Jack Savage was on his way to investigate an energy spike that had appeared not long ago in Tundratown. He had been investigating such energy spikes at the behest of his superiors. He had borrowed a car from the motor pool and taken it to Tundratown.

‘ _Wonder if Judy Hopps had to put up with this,_ ’ Jack thought as he pulled the car up to the spot the energy surge had been detected from. This was busywork, intended to make it look like the ZIA were giving him something to do, but in reality Jack was a token bunny to his bosses. He was sure he would never be given real work. He wasn’t even allowed a weapon.

There was really only one mammal who had been genuinely nice to Jack, and that was the leucistic red fox in the ZIA motor pool. Skye Anabel was her name, and Jack couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out why she was the _only_ mammal being nice to him.

“What a waste of time,” Jack sighed as he pulled the car over into a space near where the energy spike had been detected. He got out and fished a torch from his belt. He entered the alley, torch raised. Unarmed apart from the torch, which was definitely not weighty enough to cause any damage should he try to defend himself with it, Jack had to step cautiously. On top of that, the ground in the alley had patches of ice over it, which would make quick movement unwise.

He spotted light coming from behind a polar bear-sized dumpster. Crouching and proceeding quietly, Jack steeled himself.

He rounded around the corner of the dumpster and almost dropped his torch when he saw what was causing the light.

Or it might have been more accurate to state that the light _was_ the cause. There were shards of what looked like glass floating around it.

“What the…?” Jack whispered. He reached for his phone, but instead of calling his superiors or for backup, he activated the phone’s camera and began recording.

“They’ll never believe me if I just call them,” Jack mumbled to himself. He knew that if he told them, they would just write it off. Maybe they’d say it was a street light.

“Can I get closer to it?” Jack wondered out loud.

Jack stepped forward towards the strange light, but as he did so, the light collapsed.

“Damn it!” Jack cursed. He stepped forward to where the strange light had been, but there was no trace of where it had been.

“What the heck am I supposed to do with this?” Jack sighed. He shook his head and turned around to return to his car. He got half-way there when he caught the sound of skittering metal behind him. Spinning around quickly, Jack raised the torch again.

“Who’s there?” Jack shouted. There was an eerie silence. Jack stepped forward again, on guard for an ambush of some kind.

“I know you’re there, so you’d better come out with your paws where I can see them!” Jack ordered.

His torch shined on a solitary figure hiding behind a large box, its lengthy, thin tail poking around the corner.

“Come out,” Jack ordered. The figure didn’t move. Jack cautiously moved closer.

He rounded the corner, and the figure pounced, an arm raised, with a sharp implement in its paw. Jack dodged and caught his assailant’s arm, twisting with enough force to make them drop their weapon. Jack’s assailant managed to wriggle free of his grip and he ran.

“Hey!” Jack ran after his assailant. He noted that the mammal appeared to be a mustelid – a ferret or weasel. It leaped up a fire escape and Jack followed, climbing up the fire escape ladder. As he got to the top rungs, his fingers slipped against the icy surface and he dropped to the ground, sliding back towards the wall.

“Ow…” Jack remarked as he slowly picked himself back up, so as not to slip again. He fished his phone out from his pocket and dialled through – he had no choice.

“ _Savage, this had better be good,_ ” came the voice of Jack’s grumpy superior, a puma by the name of Special Agent Joseph Catamount.

“Sir, I was ambushed in the alley,” Jack reported.

“ _I take it that means that this is a dead end,_ ” Catamount responded, his voice betraying the certainty he had that it was indeed the case, as expected.

“There was a light, and then nothing, and then I was attacked,” Jack continued.

“ _What good are you, Savage, if you can’t defend yourself?_ ” Catamount snorted. “ _Get back to HQ. You’re going to be doing desk work for a while. Is that understood?_ ”

“But, sir…” Jack began.

“ _I said: is that understood?_ ” Catamount repeated.

“Yes… _sir_ ,” Jack gritted his teeth in anger. The line went dead and Jack stared at his phone in silence. The irritation that he felt was palpable. He headed back to the car.

“Hell with this, this isn’t over,” Jack grumbled.

******

Jack got back to the ZIA garage. He got out of the car and chucked the keys back at Skye, who caught them deftly.

“What’s eating your carrot?” Skye frowned. Jack turned to her, chewing on his tongue.

“Nothing, Anabel,” Jack replied, heading for the elevator. When it opened, he stepped in and the doors began to close. A cream paw appeared between the doors and the opened back up. Skye slipped into the elevator, pressed the button for the lobby and stood beside Jack. After the doors shut, Skye pressed the ‘stop’ button and the elevator juddered to a halt.

“Surnames, Savage?” Skye lowered her voice. “Somebody’s _really_ got you pissed off, huh?”

Jack sighed.

“Catamount pulled me from the field,” Jack said. “Didn’t even listen to what I told him about… what I found. Just focused right on the facts that I got jumped by a weasel. Or ferret. Whatever it was…”

“What _did_ you find?” Skye asked. Jack glanced at her briefly before pulling his phone out and starting the video showing the strange light before it disappeared.

“Seems strange, now I think about it, that I got jumped right _after_ finding this… thing,” Jack said.

“Well, I’m not the super-secret agent, I’m just the mechanic,” Skye said, “but I’d call that some sort of strange. No idea what it is?”

“No,” Jack replied. “I’ll probably never find out anyway, since I’m going to be stuck behind a desk until they decide to fire me for spelling a word wrong on a report or something.”

“Well, were you told you couldn’t investigate on your own time?” Skye raised an eyebrow.

“No, but how exactly am I going to do that?” Jack asked.

“Well, is there anything… _unusual_ that happens when these things happen?” Skye asked.

“Maybe? I don’t know…” Jack shrugged.

“You’re so cute when you do that,” Skye smirked.

“You know, you’re not supposed to call a rabbit cute,” Jack grumbled.

“Good thing jackrabbits are hares, then,” Skye grinned. “Tell you what… why don’t I…”

Skye took Jack’s phone.

“Hey!” Jack raised his voice.

“And there we go!” Skye gave him his phone back. Jack looked at the screen. Skye had added her number to his phone contacts. She reached over and hit the ‘stop’ button again and the elevator flared to life.

“It’s nice of you to give me your number and all, but… why?” Jack raised an eyebrow.

“If you think of something, give me a call,” Skye replied. “Or… if you just want to talk.”

The elevator bell dinged and Skye got out.

“Later, Stripes,” Skye waved. Jack’s gaze followed her out as the elevator doors closed.

‘ _How dense could you get?_ ’ Skye chuckled to herself as she left for home.

******

Jack opened the file on his desk. He scanned the contents of the strange energy readings, hoping to find something that might help with regards to investigating without the resources of the ZBI at his disposal. He took a paper out and read it.

“Right… ‘Energy surges are recorded… anomalous readings across several different mediums… spike in radiation in the area…’ that’s not going to help, it’s not like I can sneak a Geiger counter out the building… what’s this?”

Jack stopped, double-checking what he was reading, just to be sure he read right.

“‘Whenever these energy surges occur, interference occurs on the radio band frequency 87.6 FM’,” Jack repeated. “Radio distortion? I can use that.” Jack jotted down the radio frequency onto a piece of paper and slipped it into his pocket. He checked the clock and saw that the time was 17:10. Wordlessly, he rose from his chair, locked his desk and left.

******

Jack lived in an apartment located just on the borders of Savanna Central and Tundratown. The Climate Wall kept Tundratown’s cold air from reaching the building, but it didn’t stop the sometimes-magical views.

Sat in his apartment, all alone and in the dark, Jack listened to the radio. He had it set to 87.6FM, which would normally equate to Zootopia Rock Radio. Jack wasn’t a huge rock listener, though he did have some old CDs from when he was a teenager. Mostly The Whoof, Buns N Roses, and some Alice Cougar.

“ _That was Elvis Preysley’s Suspicious Minds, the last song on this Classic Rock Hour here on Zootopia Rock Radio. I’m your host, Tony Blackbear, and this…_ ”

The radio started to cut out. Jack sat up, wondering if this was the interference he was waiting for, but deciding to wait to see what would come of it. The radio’s speaker gave off a sustained static sound, and Jack was _sure_ this was it.

He got up, ready to go out and find the mysterious light again, but a thought stopped him from walking straight out the door.

‘ _Even if I find it again, what’s going to happen?_ ’ Jack thought. ‘ _ZIA wouldn’t listen last time, and if I go alone… go alone?_ ’

Jack fumbled for his phone, opened the Contacts menu and found the number he was looking for.

“‘Sweetie Skye’?” Jack raised an eyebrow in confusion. He shook it off and hit Dial. The phone rang for a few seconds.

“ _Well, Mr. Savage, I wasn’t expecting you to call so quickly,_ ” Skye’s voice answered.

“Skye, I need a favour,” Jack said.

There was a brief silence.

“ _Of course you do,_ ” Skye replied, less enthusiastically. “ _What can I do you for, Jack?_ ”

“Do you have a radio?” Jack asked.

“ _Yeah?_ ” Skye answered. “ _You didn’t call me up to ask to borrow a radio, did you?_ ”

“Switch yours onto 87.6FM,” Jack said. There was silence for a moment.

“ _Huh, usually that’s the Zootopia Rock Radio, but all I’m hearing is static,_ ” Skye said.

“That’s what I’m getting too,” Jack said. “I think another one of these things has appeared, and I’m going to go look for it.”

“ _You called me for a second opinion?_ ” Skye said quietly. “ _Of all the…_ ”

“Actually, that was only _part_ of the favour…” Jack admitted. “Can I come pick you up? I’d… like a second pair of eyes, and…”

“ _Yeah, I get it,_ ” Skye replied. “ _But… I have a condition._ ”

Jack sighed. ‘ _Of course, there’s a caveat._ ’

“Go on,” Jack said.

“ _I’ll come out with you, buuuut… you’ve gotta come out for coffee with me at the weekend,_ ” Skye bartered. Jack raised a curious eyebrow.

“I don’t drink coffee,” Jack said.

“ _Then tea, or hot chocolate,_ ” Skye replied, “ _whatever you want. That’s my terms, Mr. Savage._ ”

Jack thought for a moment.

“Okay,” Jack agreed. “So, where do I pick you up from?”

******

Jack had picked Skye up from her apartment in his car. As it turned out, Skye lived a few blocks away from Jack.

Skye had settled into the car seat, and Jack pulled out from the parking slot.

“So, where are we going?” Skye asked.

“Best place to start is the last place,” Jack replied.

“So, Tundratown?” Skye remarked.

“Yep,” Jack nodded. “Sorry, it’s going to be cold, and slippery.”

“No worries,” Skye grinned. “We foxes can take the cold, and I’m probably steadier on my feet than you.”

“Ha, ha,” Jack deadpanned.

The journey from Skye’s apartment to the alley in Tundratown didn’t take long. They pulled up just outside the alley’s entrance. Jack tuned his in-car radio to 87.6FM. The static noise was still coming through, yet somehow it seemed… louder to Jack, and not simply because he had sensitive hearing and the sound was coming through the car’s speakers.

“Gotta be here,” Jack said. He turned towards the alley.

“So, we’re looking for some kind of light,” Skye remarked.

“Yup,” Jack nodded.

“Well, there’s no light in that alley,” Skye stated. “Odd… maybe they’re relying on the natural light to reflect off the snow that falls.”

“I don’t know, but I…” Jack began. He was cut off when the radio’s static became a blaring noise. Deep into the alley, a light flared to life behind a container.

“That’s us, I take it,” Skye said. They both got out of the car and headed down the alley. Skye took out a large torch and flicked the on switch.

“Bet that this will hurt a bit if I hit ‘em,” Skye remarked.

“We’re not here to beat up mammals, Skye,” Jack rolled his eyes.

“You got jumped before,” Skye reminded him. “I’m not going to take the chance again. A good mechanic comes prepared.”

“You know, with a mindset like that, you’d be good upstairs,” Jack replied. Skye didn’t respond immediately, waiting to see if Jack understood just what he had just said. She knew he probably meant that she would be good as an Agent, but Jack had a habit of saying things sometimes without thinking through what alternative meaning could be taken from them.

“You know what that sounds like, Mr. Savage?” Skye teased after allowing the pause to go on a little longer.

“Um…” Jack flustered, “I meant you’d make a good Agent!”

“Sure,” Skye grinned. “Actually, I like it downstairs,” Skye allowed another pause for effect, before adding: “Being a mechanic suits me just fine.”

A metallic skittering sound came from the direction of the light, from behind the container the light was emanating from. Jack and Skye were on alert, stepping more slowly.

“So, we came back to the past?” a female voice reached their ears.

“Looks like it, Fluff,” a male voice replied. “Sure ain’t the future.”

“Why come here?” the female voice asked. “This is just… the old world.”

“I’m sure we’ll find out, but let’s find our mustelid friend first, and bring him back so he can face justice,” the male voice said.

Jack and Skye rounded the large container, torches held high.

“ZIA, stay right where you are!” Jack ordered. Further words were cut off when he caught sight of the two figures.

They looked practically identical to Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, the heroes of Zootopia. But why would they be here? Last he heard, they were taking some time off after solving the terrorist incident involving the bombing of Precinct One.

“Oh, sweet cheese and crackers,” the Judy Hopps lookalike remarked.

The Nick lookalike meanwhile breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, good. No dinosaurs. This might not be as bad as I thought.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that concludes this first chapter! A few notes:
> 
> -The name ‘Children of Janus’ is inspired by 1995’s Judge Dredd. However, I’m pretty sure that the writers of the film just chose the name because it sounded ‘cool’. Janus is an Ancient Roman God, associated with many things, including beginnings, time, and gateways.  
> -The chapter’s title is deliberate, since the ‘post-chapter’ of Futures Past is called ‘A New Future?’  
> -The use of the portals interfering with the 87.6FM broadcast frequency is inspired by defunct British TV series Primeval, which also inspired the appearance of the Portals in both this story and Futures Past. However, no radio stations broadcast in that frequency in the UK (contrary to what S2E1 of Primeval says). I chose a rock station for the frequency in this story.  
> -The Whoof, Alice Cougar and Buns N Roses are allusions to The Who, Alice Cooper and Guns N Roses. Tony Blackbear is a reference to Tony Blackburn, a British radio presenter.  
> -I could not resist the urge to put ‘dense Jack’ in here somewhere. He’s not as dense as the Dense Jack of theblueberrycarrots’ comics, but it was fun to include an element of that. I can somewhat relate – I would have no idea if anybody is flirting with me ‘^^


	2. Back to Work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! In this chapter, our ‘present day’ heroes try to return to normalcy. How will it go?
> 
> Thank you to the people who reviewed the previous chapter: GhostWolf88, hk201, OrangeBlossom46, PJSam, J Shute, yoshifan30, TheJokerman, x_uve, Cimar-WildeHopps (FFN and DA)
> 
> I’d like to thank J Shute (O.H. Shoot) for beta-reading this chapter.

**Back To Work**

_Okay, so let’s run back through everything that’s happened so far. Quickly, though: I’m a busy fox._

_I was born about one hundred years from now. Sounds strange when I say it, but I was born in the future, and into a really bad one. Predators subjugated. Enforcers called Subjugats sent to ensure we were kept under heel. A ‘predator revolution’ that led to open hostilities._

_And among it all, one fox who wound up volunteering for a mission to change the past, ensuring the future didn’t come to pass at all. I overshot the mark… quite a bit. But if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to learn to blend in as well as I did._

_And, then, we all know the story. Fox meets bunny. They make a dynamic duo that saves the city from the event that triggers my future. Fox becomes cop, thinking the future is changed for good, but is soon faced with the truth: the future came knocking, hoping to make sure it happened. And the fox and bunny teamed up again to stop them. The future changed for good._

_So, how am I talking now? Why didn’t I just fade out of existence? Well, it turns out that time doesn’t work the way that some think. We’re exiles in time. What we do now will change the future, but we won’t cease to exist because we are no longer a part of that future._

_After the incident with Commissar Hopps, a clone of Carrots with altered memories and a superiority complex, I figured that I was finally done with time travel shenanigans. For the first time ever, I thought I could live a normal life._

******

_Present Day_

It had been a month since the incident involving the clone of Judy and the Subjugats, and Nick and Judy had returned from Bunnyburrow after taking a break and introducing Juliah, a surviving former Subjugat, to the Hopps family. Initially, the pair had been given two weeks, but the investigation had taken a little longer, and so Bogo had extended their time off.

“Well, back to normal,” Nick remarked as they reached Judy’s apartment door.

“As normal as it can get, anyway,” Judy replied. “A lot has happened these past couple of months.”

“Indeed, it has,” Nick agreed. “I hope Bogo has a _regular_ case for us when we get back to the ZPD tomorrow.”

“Careful what you wish for, Slick,” Judy grinned.

“Well, I’ve yet to have a wish go wrong,” Nick smirked in return.

“Oh?” Judy raised an eyebrow. “And what did you last wish for?”

“This,” Nick leaned down and kissed Judy quickly on the lips.

“That was sly of you,” Judy said when Nick pulled back, her ears red.

“I aim to please,” Nick grinned in reply. Judy smirked, took hold of Nick’s tie, yanked him down and kissed him back. She let go, turned into her apartment and glanced back at Nick.

“Now, we’re even,” Judy smiled. “See you in the morning, Slick.”

She shut the door. Nick stood there for a moment, as if computing what had just happened. He shook his head, a smile on his lips.

“I love that bunny,” Nick said to himself.

“ _HEY, FOX, WHEN’S THE WEDDING?_ ” came a loud voice from the apartment next to Judy’s.

“ _THEY’VE JUST STARTED GOING OUT, SHUT UP AND GIVE THEM SOME SPACE!_ ” came another voice.

“ _THEY’VE BEEN HEAD OVER HOOVES FOR AGES, SO YOU SHUT UP!_ ”

“ _NO, YOU SHUT UP!_ ”

“ _NO, YOU SHUT UP!_ ”

With the sounds of Judy’s neighbours growing more distant, Nick made his way towards the stairs out.

******

_Well, Carrots’ charming neighbours weren’t wrong – we were head over paws in love. I had felt a connection to her since she saved my tail back in the Night Howler case. I had to make a choice: I was here for a very specific reason. Did I want to act on my feelings, if it risked the mission I was sent here for?_

_Well, once it became clear that Carrots had realised she had been misdirected, she made amends. And that was when it stopped risking the mission._

_Besides, the mission was over anyway. The Subjugats gone, their Commissar locked up in prison for instigating the whole thing and claiming she was the real Judy Hopps.  
_

_Like I said, I hoped for a normal life once it was all over._

_Fate didn’t share my appraisal of the situation, apparently._

******

_Precinct One Temporary Headquarters_

Because their building was still being rebuilt following the bombing by the Subjugats, the officers of Precinct One were borrowing space from Precinct Two, which meant a longer journey for both Nick and Judy.

Judy had arrived first, and had been waiting for Nick for a few minutes before he turned up.

“You’re late,” Judy folded her arms.

“A fox is never late, Judith Hopps,” Nick quipped. “Nor is he early. He arrives _exactly_ when he means to.”

“Har, har,” Judy rolled her eyes. “This isn’t Alpha of the Rings.”

“I’m pretty wizard, though,” Nick smirked.

“That was pretty bad, Slick,” Judy laughed gently. “Anybody would think you’re one hundred years old and not…”

“Minus ninety-nine years old?” Nick raised an eyebrow.

“And you don’t look a day over minus fifty-nine,” Judy chortled.

“I certainly don’t look bad for my negative age, do I?” Nick smiled.

“Come on, we’re going to be late for the briefing,” Judy nudged Nick lightly. The pair headed for the temporary briefing room. As was usual, there were several officers already in there, occupying themselves with arm-wrestling and chatter while they waited for Bogo. Nick and Judy took their seats. Moments later, Higgins stepped forward next to the lectern set up at the front.

“Ten-hut!” he called. The usual rowdy grunting began as Bogo entered the room and stepped behind the lectern.

“All right, all right,” Bogo said. The chanting calmed and Bogo put his glasses on.

“We have some items on the docket today, but first, a few announcements,” Bogo said. “Welcome back to Officers Hopps and Wilde.”

Bogo nodded and there was a round of applause for the pair.

“Enough!” Bogo bellowed, and the applause stopped. “Now, regarding the repairs to Precinct One, luckily there’s no structural damage, and the Mayor has approved the funds, so we should be back in our own building in a few months.”

A cheer rose up from the assembled officers.

“Okay, with that out of the way: assignments,” Bogo spoke.

******

_And so, Bogo gave out assignments, but he left out ours. At first, I wondered if he was going to pull the same joke he did on my first day. At any moment, I expected him to say “Hopps, Wilde: parking duty.”_

_Not only did that not happen, but we were left alone with Bogo after he handed out assignments and the other Officers had left the bullpen._

_This was going to be just fantastic._

******

“Okay, Chief, hit us with it,” Judy sighed. “What have we done wrong this time?”

“Whatever gave you that impression, Hopps?” Bogo raised an eyebrow.

“You didn’t give us an assignment,” Judy replied. “Not even desk duty.”

“I needed to talk with you before I sent you out on your first assignment back,” Bogo explained. “It’s nothing bad. Quite the opposite. But, first, before I get to why I held you back, I want to personally thank you both for what you did last month. I won’t lie and say I completely _understand_ everything. I have not told anybody else exactly _what_ went on. The less mammals know the truth, the better.”

“Something I can agree with,” Nick nodded.

“The Mayor has suggested a… _reward_ for stopping another crisis,” Bogo continued.

“What is it? Cake? A party? One million dollars? A day off?” Nick sat up, a snarky grin on his face.

“Shut your mouth, Wilde!” Bogo glared at Nick.

Nick and Judy traded glances, though Judy’s expression seemed to be one of warning to Nick.

“Now, what I will say is that this is not the first time the Mayor has made this particular suggestion,” Bogo continued. “But the last time he made it, it only applied to one of you, and for some reason, I thought it better to keep you two together. After your solving of the previous case, the Mayor agreed that the time was appropriate.”

Bogo turned around and picked up a small box from the lectern. He padded over to Nick and Judy, opening the box and taking out two badges from it. He passed them to Nick and Judy. Their eyes became like saucers in surprise when they read what was on those badges:

_Hopps: ZPD Detective_

_Wilde: ZPD Detective_

The badges made it plain: Bogo was promoting both of them. When Judy arrived in Precinct One, and saw that Officers were taking cases, she assumed that the Detective role either didn’t exist, or was just for show. It wasn’t until later that she learned that it was precisely because of the special circumstances surrounding the Missing Mammals case that Officers had been given cases to investigate. Bogo had needed all paws on deck.

“Chief… thank you,” Judy breathed quietly.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Bogo replied. “This isn’t a token position. I expect both of you to work hard on whatever cases come your way.”

“Yes, sir,” Nick and Judy chimed together.

“Good,” Bogo nodded. “Because you’re being thrown right in the deep end.”

Bogo picked up a file from the lectern. He passed it to Judy, and she opened it.

“A murder?” Judy raised an eyebrow.

******

_Bogo wasn’t kidding when he said he was throwing us in the deep end. A murder was a pretty heavy first case for a Detective. I don’t like to brag… well, not much, anyway, but for Bogo to give us this as our first case, it meant he trusted our abilities._

_And, to be fair, a murder seemed pretty mundane, when considering the previous case involved time-travelling prey supremacists trying to usurp Zootopia. At least this one didn’t require any… creative writing to report on._

_The victim was an otter named Victoria Ottertavius. She was an intern at a lab. She had been stabbed to death. She lived in an apartment in the Rainforest District and had no previous criminal history, nor was there any record of her being in conflict with anybody. Neighbours, former friends, family, co-workers… nothing._

_A murder… the thought came to me that Carrots might not be… accustomed to murders yet, and, to be honest, stabbings aren’t exactly my wheelhouse either._

******

Judy pulled the cruiser up to the curb outside the apartment block in the Rainforest District. ZPD Officers were already there. Nick could see Officer Fangmeyer at the cordon of the crime scene. The pair got out of the cruiser and walked up to the cordon.

“Heard the good news,” Fangmeyer grinned easily as she pulled the cordon tape up to let Nick and Judy through. “Congrats, Detectives.”

“Thanks, Trisha,” Judy replied. “We read the preliminary report. Anything we should know?”

“Yeah, it’s a bit messy in there,” Fangmeyer answered. “Hope you’re prepared. Bogo really dropped you straight in.”

“Medical Examiner?” Judy asked.

“On his way,” Fangmeyer replied.

Nick and Judy entered the apartment. It was a plainly-decorated place, with a few photos on the walls of the victim and friends and family.

“Door was forced,” Nick noted, examining the doorframe and door.

“We can start with family and friends to find out if our victim had any enemies,” Judy noted as she looked at the photos lining the wall.

She turned to the living room doorway.

“Ready for this?” Nick asked.

“Going to have to go in there some time,” Judy replied. She steeled herself and walked into the room.

The living room was messy. Tables had been knocked over in what had evidently been a struggle. Blood flecked the floor. Judy and Nick’s attention turned to the body on the floor, the former Victoria Ottertavius. Judy froze in place, her ears falling and the colour draining from them. Nick sympathetically placed a paw on her shoulder.

“The first one’s always the hardest,” Nick said quietly. “But we have to do our jobs, or else we won’t find who did this.”

The front door creaked open and the hyena medical examiner entered with his assistant, a young-looking meerkat.

******

_Day one back, and we have a murder to deal with. Carrots had obviously never had to encounter the product of wilful killing before. Truth be told: I hadn’t encountered it in this way before. There’s a world of difference between being a ‘soldier’ who shoots enemies that turn out to be nothing but soulless puppets, and the deliberate, up-close murder of a mammal that had truly lived._

_At least this would prove to be less complicated than our last case, right?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Nick, are those famous last words I see you saying there?
> 
> Thank you for reading! Hopefully the next chapter won’t take as long to come out!


	3. Investigation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ‘Hopefully the next chapter won’t take as long to come out!’ Haha, yeah… about that... I am really sorry for the six-month wait! I’ve had… things to deal with these past few months that has made doing… well, anything, a real chore. On top of that, I have been busy with university work, and also job hunting. Anyway, enough about my woes. Here’s the next chapter of Children of Janus!
> 
> Before we begin, I want to thank those who reviewed the previous chapters: Wolfx1120, Sapperjoe85, PJSam, J Shute, x_uve, TheJokerman, MarvelousManiac, Cimar of Turalis Wildehopps, Tinbuzzard
> 
> And thanks to O.H. Shoot/J Shute for giving this the once-over.

** INVESTIGATION **

_ Never say anything that could tempt fate, because fate likes to bite you in the tail. _

_ After Doctor Fisi and his assistant Medical Examiner Rahisi were finished, they took poor Victoria Ottertavius away and left me and Carrots to search her apartment for clues and evidence that would help us find whoever did this, and put them away. _

_ The first place any good investigator should start is with known associates. At least, that’s what I thought. And for that, we needed to know  _ who _those associates were. We needed to know more about Victoria._

_ Her apartment yielded no clues as to a potential suspect, though we did find out a bit more about her. She had photos of her with another otter and with friends. There was a photo of her on her graduation with her parents standing proudly behind her. It wasn’t going to be nice informing them of her death. _

_ Judging by some of the documents we found, she worked for New Zoo Laboratories. I didn’t know what they did – laboratories can be a bit secretive about their work – but it was definitely something we could look into to try to find a lead. _

_ Carrots interviewed the neighbours while I continued searching the apartment, taking swabs where I needed to and photographing evidence. She found out that Victoria was a friendly otter who got on with all of her neighbours. All of them were shocked by her murder. _

_ One saw someone leaving the apartment the night before, but because it was dark, she could only make out the vague shape of the mammal in question: a mustelid. Could be a weasel, a ferret, a stoat, or a mink. Or any number of similar species. Without any apparent trace of the mammal inside the apartment, it wasn’t even possible to tell if there was a connection yet. _

_ It was our job to find one. But first, we had to know the ‘how’. _

******

_ I knew what it was like to tell somebody that someone they cared about had died, but Carrots hadn’t had that experience yet. When we concluded our search and questioning of the neighbours, I knew what came next. Now we had an identification of the victim, and we had contact information for her family, we had to go and break the news to them. _

_ Just because I had experience here, from my time in the future, that doesn’t make it easier. And in a lot of ways, this was much harder. Watching Victoria’s parents break down after hearing what we had come to inform them was probably the worst thing I’ve ever had to experience since coming to this time. I’m not naïve. I knew that mammals died. But I didn’t think that I’d see anything quite as brutal as something that might have come from my own time. Especially not in a time where there was peace, where Domare Dominatio didn’t get their slimy paws on Zootopia. _

******

Having completed their task of informing Victoria’s family of her passing, Judy got back into the cruiser. Nick joined her. She gripped the steering wheel hard.

“Carrots… Judy, are you okay?” Nick asked. He gingerly placed a paw on her shoulder.

“It’s just…” Judy began. “I always knew I’d have to come across these sorts of things someday. But… it… I can’t even say it, Nick… it hurt to do that. It hurt to watch them realise that the only time they’ll see their daughter now is on the slab in Autopsy, and when they bury her. This isn’t some ‘emotional bunny’ thing… is it?”

“I’m not going to lie to you, Carrots,” Nick lowered his muzzle. “It got to me too. I’ve seen this sort of thing a lot, but… it’s never been an easy thing to do.”

“Does it get easier?” Judy asked.

“Easier?” Nick put a paw on his chin. “No. Never easier. But… you learn to deal with it. Or you learn to hide it, to never let other mammals see that it gets to you.”

“I want to catch the mammal that did this, Nick,” Judy affirmed, gripping the steering wheel harder.

“I know, Carrots,” Nick nodded. “And we will.”

******

_ ZPD forensics lab _

“… I’m sorry, _what?_ ” Nick said.

“Don’t make her repeat it!” Judy hissed.

Hurriet was the ZPD’s forensics analyst. She was very good at her job. Her forensics analysis was the best in the ZPD, and the evidence she brought to officers investigating crimes was always ironclad.

There was just one problem with Hurriet, really: she was a sloth, and so she spoke very slowly.

“The… wound… shape… doesn’t… match… any… bladed… weapon… in… the… system…” Hurriet said. “The… weapon… is… most… likely… a… custom… made… weapon… and… the… way… it… inflicted… the… wounds… means… it… was… likely… one… with… some… sort… of… oscillator.”

“Great, so we’re looking for an electric toothbrush with a custom blade,” Nick snarked. “What about DNA?”

“It… will… take… at… least… twenty… four… hours… to… find… a… match…” Hurriet said.

“So at least a day,” Nick nodded.

But Hurriet hadn’t actually finished her sentence.

“… and… it… could… take… up… to… seventy… two… hours… to… find… a… match… if… the… DNA… is… not… in… the… criminal… database.”

“Thanks, Hurriet,” Judy said, grabbing Nick’s wrist and pulling him towards the door. “We’ll start searching for suspects.”

******

_ An unidentifiable weapon to start off our first murder investigation? DNA going to take at least a day, and three tops? So much for an open-and-shut case. _

_ With no way of finding out who was behind the murder through the weapon, me and Carrots had to investigate the vic’s links. And that meant sitting at a desk, going through everything about her, right down to who she was friends with, who she wasn’t so friendly with… heck, maybe people who’d even sneezed in her direction. _

_ At least it’s not future stuff, I told myself. _

******

“So, let’s start with…” Judy reached over her keyboard. She peered at the profile on her computer screen.

“Carrots, pick one,” Nick sighed.

“Well, maybe we should start with her work?” Judy checked Victoria’s employment history. “She worked at a lab… New Zoo Laboratories is the place.”

“What do they do?” Nick asked.

“They’re branched out into several different areas,” Judy replied as she read about the company. “Genetics, physics, biochemical research…”

“Sounds like a real scientific Swiss Army Knife.”

“You wouldn’t happen to know if they are the ones responsible, for… you know… _them_?”

“You mean, will they become the scientists that made the Subjugats?” Nick thought about it for a moment. “I suppose it’s possible, but in my time those mammals didn’t exactly have branding. A lot of their work was real hush-hush stuff. It’s probably just a coincidence. I bet there’s more than one lab working on that sort of stuff… if they’ve even thought of it yet.”

Judy nodded in acknowledgement, returning her attention to the computer as she brought up the address of the place.

“They have a lab in the Meadowlands…” Judy leaned forward. “Hmm…”

“What is it?” Nick asked.

“The lab…”

“What about it?”

“They put it in what used to be Cliffside Asylum,” Judy replied.

“That _is_ an odd place for a lab,” Nick said. “Guess we’ll be taking a trip out there again. Reckon they’ll have Timberwolves as security like our last visit?”

“Don’t make me howl for you again,” Judy joked.

“Awoo-dn’t dare,” Nick snarked.

“That was terrible, Slick,” Judy chuckled.

“It made you laugh, and that’s a win for me,” Nick smiled.

******

_ New Zoo Laboratories, Former Cliffside Asylum Site, Meadowlands outskirts _

Judy pulled the cruiser up to the security booth on the bridge leading to the New Zoo Laboratories building, stopping at the barrier just next to it. A year ago, her and Nick had used the booth to hide behind when they infiltrated the place, looking for those responsible for the missing mammals.

Now, they were here on official, sanctioned business.

The guard in the booth, a surly-looking grey-furred wolf, got up from his seat in the booth. Judy wound down the cruiser’s window.

“Detectives Hopps and Wilde,” Judy announced. “We’re here to talk to whoever is in charge about Victoria Ottertavius.”

The wolf stared Nick and Judy up and down, as if contemplating them. For the briefest of moments, Judy wondered if she had met the wolf before. Perhaps he was one of the formerly-savage mammals from the previous year.

“Go on through,” the wolf said finally, returning to the booth and raising the barrier. Judy nodded in thanks, wound the window up, and started the cruiser forward.

“You know who that was, don’t you?” Nick asked.

“Should I?” Judy asked.

“Well, I’m surprised you’d forget somebody you’ve arrested before, that’s all,” Nick reclined in his seat. “That’s Larry Timberton. He was one of the Timberwolves that Lionheart used to guard this place.”

“That was him?”

“Yep.”

“Huh. Small world.”

Judy pulled the cruiser up to the front of the building. She noticed how different the building looked, compared to their last visit. It looked… shinier. Newer. Or maybe it was just the fact that she was seeing it in daylight.

The duo got out and headed inside to the reception area. New Zoo Laboratories had transformed the once-dilapidated area into a bright, but somewhat clinical-looking space. To Judy, it reminded her of a hospital.

They approached the receptionist’s desk, where a springbok doe sat, tapping away at a computer.

“Excuse me!” Judy called. The springbok looked up, caught sight of Nick, darted her head around to try and find the source of the voice, before looking down.

“May I help you?” the springbok asked.

“Detective Hopps and Wilde with the ZPD,” Judy flashed her badge. “We’re here regarding one of your employees, Victoria Ottertavius.”

“Assistant Doctor Ottertavius didn’t turn up to work this morning,” the springbok said.

“We know,” Nick replied. “She’s dead.”

The springbok froze in her seat. Her head turned towards Nick.

“… Dead?” she repeated.

Judy nodded solemnly.

“Victoria… Assistant Doctor Ottertavius… she had plenty of friends here,” the springbok answered. “As far as I know, everybody liked her, but… you’d really have to speak to Doctor Blackpaw… he was working with her on … hmmm… you’d best just speak to him.”

“Can you get him for us?” Judy asked.

“Sure… uh, sure…” the springbok picked up the phone and dialled through.

“Look at you, Slick,” Judy turned to Nick, impressed. “You’re making a pretty good detective.”

Nick smirked in return.

“Doctor Blackpaw is on his way down,” the springbok interrupted.

“Thank you,” Judy nodded in reply. She paced the reception area, taking in all the things that had changed since their last visit here. There were decorative palms around the edges. There were tables and seating. A giant screen behind the receptionist’s desk played a video, presumably on loop.

“ _We welcome our visitors to New Zoo Laboratories,_ ” a voice came from the screen, “ _where we bring you tomorrow’s future, today._ ”

“Catchy slogan,” Nick quipped. He lowered himself to Judy’s level and whispered in her ear: “But I kinda got there first.”

Judy let a small chuckle escape her lips. Her ear twitched as the sound of paw-steps grew louder and both her and Nick turned towards the source.

The source was a black-footed ferret clad in a white coat. The ferret, presumably Doctor Blackpaw, had stopped dead upon seeing his visitors. Nick knew the look on Doctor Blackpaw’s face – it was one of recognition. He looked at Judy. Her expression reminded him very much of when she caught him hustling after they first met.

“J… Judy?” the ferret stuttered.

“Travis,” Judy acknowledged. “I didn’t know you worked here.”

“I take it you two already know each other,” Nick asked.

“Yes…” Judy confirmed. “Nick, meet Travis Blackpaw, somebody from my kit-hood.”

******

_ Judging by her tone of voice, Carrots did not have a good history with Doctor Travis Blackpaw. I knew about her treatment at the paws of Gideon Grey. Maybe this Travis was involved with all of that? It was something I would file away for later to ask her. _

_ For now, I needed to get us back on track. And that meant I had to get Judy and Travis to put aside whatever bad water flowed between them. _

******

“We’re here investigating the death of Victoria Ottertavius,” Nick said. Judy glanced at Nick and back at Travis.

“You want to know who killed her, right?” Travis asked.

“He didn’t say she was murdered,” Judy pointed out, eyeing Travis suspiciously.

“Two detectives turn up here investigating,” Travis retorted. “I wasn’t born yesterday. You wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t foul play, and you’re going to start with her acquaintances.”

“He’s got you there,” Nick shrugged. Judy aimed a small glare in his direction.

“Perhaps we should take this to my office?” Travis offered.

“Lead the way,” Nick replied. Travis turned and headed towards a pair of double-doors, stopping to scan the card around his neck to unlock them. Nick and Judy followed him through the corridors.

Nick’s eyes darted around. Gone were the piles of discarded, rusting medical equipment. The walls had been repainted, the lights had been changed, and the former cells had been converted, either into laboratories, or offices.

“Hmm… looks very different to the last time we were here,” Nick remarked.

“New Zoo Laboratories spent millions getting this building up to code after they bought it,” Travis explained.

“So, uh… what do you guys do here?” Nick pressed.

“We’re split into departments here,” Travis answered. “I work in biology. I can’t say much more than that, since we’re working on a number of classified projects here.”

Travis stopped outside an office, opened the door and ushered Nick and Judy inside. He shut the door behind him.

“First off,” Travis turned around to face Judy. “I want to apologise for what I did to you when we were kits. It was wrong, deep down I knew it was wrong. I can’t excuse it. I’ve… been working hard to improve myself for years now. I don’t expect you to forgive me. So… there it is.”

“I appreciate the apology,” Judy replied, her features softening slightly.

“What do you want to know about Victoria?” Travis asked, sitting on a chair by his desk. Nick and Judy sat themselves down.

“Did Victoria have any enemies that you know of?” Nick asked.

“Enemies?” Travis repeated. “No! Everybody liked her here. She’s been here for a year and she was about to step up from Assistant…”

Travis placed a paw on his head and gritted his teeth.

“I don’t suppose you can tell us what she was working on?” Judy asked.

“I’m… not supposed to, but…” Travis began. “If it helps catch her killer…”

“It might,” Nick replied.

“Well… she was working with me in the Biology lab,” Travis explained. “We worked on… cloning.”

“Cloning?” Judy said in surprise. Even Nick was taken aback at this.

“We don’t clone whole mammals!” Travis put his paws up. “Just… organs. For donations. We’re in the very early stages right now, but our work’s promising. The thought behind it was that if we could clone new organs for mammals that need them, we might be able to use those in transplants and reduce the need for anti-rejection medication. Your body is much less likely to reject an organ if it’s made from your own cells.”

“I see…” Nick said distantly, thinking.

“I… just can’t see how that might be related, though,” Travis continued. “She was an Assistant about to step up, but… oh, Gods…”

“We’re just trying to cover all angles,” Judy affirmed. “Your work here… could be sensitive enough that a rival might want to disrupt it.”

“But that doesn’t make sense either…” Travis replied. “Killing her and not somebody more important to the project?”

“Then, maybe revenge?” Nick asked. “Has anybody tried to poach her from here?”

“If they have, then she never told me,” Travis replied.

“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Judy questioned.

“No, nothing…” Travis said. “I… I don’t know too much about her personal life.”

“Thank you, Doctor Blackpaw,” Nick said, standing up. He plucked a card from his pocket and handed it to Travis. “If you think of anything else that might be relevant, call us.”

“I will,” Travis nodded. “And, Detectives? Catch whoever did this.”

“Oh, we will,” Judy said with determination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s a wrap for this chapter! Apologies for the long wait. I really hope the next chapter doesn’t take another six months to get out there.


	4. Suspect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think just over a month is better than six of the damn things to get a chapter out!
> 
> Special thanks to those who reviewed the previous chapter: Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps, Wolfx1120, PJSam, seakard, TheJokerman
> 
> And special thanks to Alicorn Airport for beta-reading!

** SUSPECT **

_ No leads from Victoria Ottertavius’ work, and only a vague description of a possible suspect from her neighbours, meant that me and Carrots were back to the drawing board, at least for the moment. We still had the DNA to wait on. _

******

“Carrots, you wanna talk about it?” They had returned to the station after interviewing Travis Blackpaw—and a few of the other employees. It really seemed like their victim was inoffensive as an otter could be, adding a dose of bafflement to the motives. To top it all off, since speaking with Travis, Judy had been moodier than the time she had first caught Nick’s hustle. It was odd: Nick knew from their conversation that Judy and Travis had history. _And_ she had seemed to take Travis’ apology in stride. Nick knew she couldn’t hold a grudge to save her life, so her mood couldn’t have been _just_ because of the unexpected meeting.

“Sorry, Nick. I’m just…” Judy began, “I’m a little bit frustrated. We have nothing. Nothing at all.”

“Well, the DNA should come back soon,” Nick pointed out, “Don’t worry, Carrots. We’ll catch them.”

Crossing the gap between them, Nick bent down to plant a small kiss between Judy’s ears.

“Nick, we’re working,” Judy chuckled.

“What? I can’t show my doefriend a bit of _supportive affection_?” Nick raised a disarming eyebrow.

“I just don’t want it paraded 'round the Station,” Judy replied. “We don’t fall foul of the ‘rank fraternization’ regulations, but…”

“ _Relax_ , Carrots,” Nick rested a paw on Judy’s shoulder. “If it was such a big deal, I’m sure Bogo would have separated us. I think he knows we’re… good together.”

“He’s not the only one,” came a bright voice from behind them. Nick and Judy spun themselves around to face Clawhauser, the portly cheetah who would normally have been seen at the receptionist’s desk at Precinct One, wearing an ear-to-ear smile on his face as he clutched a file.

“C… Clawhauser? What are you doing up here?” Judy stammered.

“Oh, I got something from the lab for you,” Clawhauser stepped forward. He handed the file to Judy, leaning in to whisper: “By the way, a lot of us kind of knew you two were a thing... Even the Chief had his suspicions!”

“Good to know we can make out any which way without turning eyebrows,” Nick smirked.

“ _Ni-ick_!” Judy shouted, delivering a solid whack to his arm, " _we can't_."

“No, you definitely can’t,” another voice interjected. The three whipped around. Bogo loomed in the doorway.

“Hopps, Wilde... what you do on your own time? Don’t care,” Bogo said. “What you do on _my_ time? Your jobs. I expect you _both_ ,” Bogo glared pointedly at Nick, “to act professionally. I _may_ excuse the occasional… _minor infraction_ , but make no mistake: I expect both of you to behave yourselves. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Nick and Judy chimed.

“Clawhauser, what brings you in here?” Bogo asked.

“Oh, erm, I was delivering the results of the DNA search from the lab to them,” Clawhauser pointed to the file in Judy’s paws.

“And you have done that, so return to your desk,” Bogo raised an eyebrow.

“Um… yes, sir!” Clawhauser replied, leaving Bogo, Nick and Judy alone.

“I wasn’t joking when I said I expect professionalism from the two of you,” Bogo said, “but Clawhauser is correct: I had my suspicions the two of you were… _bound_.”

“We’re not _that_ far, Chief,” Judy replied.

“There’s a few more layers to it, and… some, erm… _complications_ ,” Nick fumbled.

“Under normal circumstances, I would reprimand you for inappropriate innuendo, Wilde,” Bogo warned, “but I suspect you mean your _unique_ circumstances.”

Nick nodded.

“This time travel situation gives me a headache,” Bogo placed a hoof on his forehead in irritation. “Wilde, Hopps… I took great pains to keep this off the books. Just… don’t blow it.”

“Yes, sir,” Nick and Judy chimed again.

Bogo nodded to the pair of them and left. Judy’s attention turned to the file in her paws.

“I thought the DNA would take longer,” she frowned.

“I’m not about to question it,” Nick shrugged. “Who’s the match?”

Judy opened the file . Her jaw went slack. Nick leaned to get a look over her head.

“Well, I’ll be,” Nick said. “Maybe this case closes early after all.”

The match was one Travis Blackpaw.

******

_ Travis wasn’t exactly a prime suspect in the first place. Then again, sometimes it’s the ones you least expect . So me and Carrots headed right back to New Zoo Laboratories, DNA match in paw _

******

The springbok receptionist was exactly where they'd left her. She looked up at the approaching officers. 

“How may I help, Detectives?”

“We’re here to speak to Doctor Blackpaw,” Judy replied.

“And maybe arrest him for murder,” Nick added.

“Murder?” the springbok gasped.

“Yes, so if you could get him out here so we can hear his side of the story, that’d be great,” Nick said.

“Um… right…” the springbok receptionist picked up the phone and dialled through. Within minutes, Travis Blackpaw emerged from the laboratory area.

“Doctor Blackpaw, we would like you to accompany us down the station for questioning,” Judy remarked.

“Why?” Travis frowned.

“We have DNA evidence that puts you at our crime scene,” Judy answered. “It’s up to you which way we do this, Travis: in cuffs or without.”

******

_ Travis decided to come quietly. As in: he remained quiet right up until we got him into the interrogation room at Precinct Two. _

_ It wasn’t like what you would see on television crime dramas: arrestees screaming their innocence, or vowing revenge, or some other grand statement that usually happens at the end of an episode. The silence was strange. But, then again, Travis was a smart ferret: perhaps he didn’t want to speak until he knew what we knew. _

_ When me and Carrots got into the interrogation room, he had become slightly nervous, as if he didn’t know what to expect. _

******

_ ZPD Precinct Two Interrogation Room _

“Why were you at Victoria Ottertavius’ apartment?” Judy asked. Travis was sat across from her, on edge from being hauled in. Nick was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed as he watched Judy work.

“When was I supposed to have been there?” Travis replied. “I can’t answer that if you don’t tell me!”

“We have your DNA in her apartment,” Judy continued, “and an eyewitness described a mustelid leaving not long after our time of death. Now, it _could_ be a coincidence, but…”

“Wait, wait, wait… this was last night?” Travis questioned.

“Yes,” Judy confirmed.

“I wasn’t anywhere _near_ her apartment last night,” Travis said.

“Got an alibi for last night?” Nick spoke.

“You could ask my partner, or any number of mammals at the Tooth And Nail!” Travis explained. “I was there most of the night.”

“And your partner, she’ll be able to vouch for you?” Judy questioned.

“ _He_ will, yes,” Travis answered.

Nick stepped forward, placed his paws on the table and leaned forward.

“ _He_ has a name, I’m guessing?” Nick asked.

“Matt Gullo,” Travis answered. “He’s a wolverine.”

******

_ It didn’t take long to verify that Travis did indeed have a valid alibi. Not only did his partner vouch for him, The Tooth And Nail had CCTV footage which proved that they were there for most of the evening. And so, we let the very peeved ferret go while we looked into just how his DNA had gotten into our crime scene without him being there. There was, of course, the possibility of it being planted to cover up the tracks of whoever the real perpetrator was. _

_ But that didn’t stop my nagging thought that there was something… familiar about the situation. _

_ With that nagging feeling, I headed right back to the Lab to double-check the DNA match. _

******

“The… match… is… a… ninety… nine… point… eight… percent… match… to… Travis… Blackpaw…” Hurriet confirmed to Nick.

“Okay, but wouldn’t it be one hundred percent?” Nick questioned. “Unless it somehow got planted five centuries ago and started to degrade?”

“That… is… correct… even… if… your… math… is… a… little… off…” Hurriet nodded slowly.

“So, how do we explain the discrepancy?” Nick asked. “Travis has no twin, and that number is far too high to be a sibling. Unless you’re suggesting that somehow there’s two… two…”

Nick stopped himself dead. That nagging feeling was back again.

“It _couldn’t_ be…” Nick mumbled to himself. He ran his paw across his chin, deep in thought while Hurriet stared at him.

“Hurriet, was it you who ran the DNA during the Precinct One Bomber investigation?” Nick asked.

“I… don’t… see… what… that… has… to… do… with… this… case…” Hurriet answered.

“Humour me,” Nick pressed.

“Sure… Yes… I… ran… the… DNA… from… that… case…”

“Can you bring up the DNA profile of the cheetah that dropped dead? The one that shared DNA with Clawhauser? Can you see if there’s any similarity with the two?”

“Sure…” Hurriet replied, reaching for the keyboard with her signature slow speed.

It took Hurriet fifteen minutes to bring the DNA profile of the Clawhauser doppelganger up. With it came the report that confirmed a match.

The match was 99.8% - the exact percentage match that Travis’ DNA had.

“Run that DNA against the DNA we lifted from the crime scene,” Nick ordered.

“Nick… I… have… to… tell… you… that… these… are… two… entirely… different… species… and… they… will… have… nothing… in… common… with… each… other…” Hurriet said. “This… would… be… a… waste… of… time…”

“Please, just do it,” Nick urged. Hurriet gave him a blank stare before shrugging slowly.

“Sure… I… can… but… I… don’t… know… what… you… hope… to… get… out… of…”

Hurriet had typed in the command as she spoke, but as soon as he hit the Enter key, the screen flashed with a 0.2% similarity.

“That’s… not… possible…” Hurriet said.

“And yet, there’s a marginal match,” Nick replied, “and I know why. Thanks, Hurriet!”

Nick left the lab, heading straight for Judy’s cubicle. She was sat there, trawling through the evidence, looking for anything that could lead to the perpetrator.

“Uhm… Carrots, I think we have a problem,” Nick remarked.

“You’re telling me, Slick,” Judy spun around. “I can’t find _anything_ that suggests another suspect, at least not with the evidence we have…”

“I can, and you’re not going to like it,” Nick said gravely. Judy lifted her eyes to meet him. Realisation dawned on her and her eyes went wide as saucers.

“Don’t say it, Slick,” Judy said.

“I think we have another clone problem,” Nick disobeyed. “I had Hurriet run it against DNA from the… _last case_ and there was a tiny match… almost like some sort of… DNA marker, I guess.”

“Ugh…” Judy put a paw on her forehead.

“You know what this means, right?” Nick asked.

“Yeah… we’ll have to tell Bogo,” Judy replied.

******

_ Before we could make our way to Bogo, we received a report of a break-in nearby. A ferret was spotted forcing his way into the property of one Matt Gullo, the wolverine partner of our former-suspect-turned-unwilling-donor – and Travis had already been spotted going there beforehand, which meant that the ferret breaking and entering couldn’t have been Travis. _

_ It had to be the clone. _

_ As we sped over to what could very soon become a crime scene, I had to wonder. _

_ If we were still getting clones, had we been successful in changing the future? Or was this all from a new future? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here we are, end of this chapter. The suspect is a Travis clone! But what does he want? What’s his goal? I guess you’ll have to stick around to find out!


	5. Protection Detail

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One tiny thing before I begin: I re-read Futures Past recently, and I mentioned that Clawhauser’s Subjugat was a perfect DNA match. In the previous chapter, there is a very marginal difference, a sort of ‘signature marker’ in there. I would explain that as this: if the marker were excluded as junk, the match would have been 100%. The marker doesn’t do anything. I have actually edited the relevant chapter of Futures Past to reflect this.
> 
> I also made a few small changes to Chapter 2 in order to line up with Futures Past where I had made mistakes in the details: the Commissar was sent to prison, not an asylum, and Nick and Judy’s leave was stated to be two weeks, not four.
> 
> With that out of the way, let’s start off by thanking those who reviewed the previous chapter: Cimar of Turalis-WildeHopps, Wolfx1120, seakard, PJSam, J Shute
> 
> And also, thank you to O.H_Shoot/J Shute for beta-reading for me.

**PROTECTION DETAIL**

_By the time we got to Matt Gullo’s home, it was over. No, Travis 2 hadn’t killed his donor. Apparently, Travis 2 hadn’t expected Matt to be home at the time he broke in, and when he made to move on his donor, Matt had rushed to the aid of his partner._

_The fun thing about wolverines is that though they are mustelids – just like weasels and ferrets – they were much larger. Putting that aside, Matt was clearly no pushover._

******

Standing outside his apartment, Matt crossed his arms as he watched the two Detectives approaching. Travis was stood beside him, clearly shaken. Travis hadn’t changed out of the clothes he had been brought into the ZPD in yet, while Matt was wearing a suit.

“Matthew Gullo,” he introduced himself.

“Detectives Hopps and Wilde,” Judy returned, indicating to herself and Nick. “Mind telling us what happened here?”

“You two are the two who interrogated Trav, right?”

“Let it go,” Travis interjected. “They had a job to do, and they’re here to do it.”

Matt eyed Nick and Judy suspiciously.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Nick asked.

“I thought it was Trav, but… he had a knife and Trav was pinned down,” Matt explained. “I threw him off and he ran.”

“Did you get a good look at him?” Judy asked. Matt and Travis glanced at each other.

“Actually… I thought I was looking in a mirror,” Travis piped up. “And I don’t mean ‘he looks a little like me’… he looked _exactly_ like me. _Exactly!_ ”

“That’s to be expected,” Nick mumbled to himself, low enough for only Judy to hear.

“ _What_ did you say, Officer?” Matt became defensive.

“What my partner, _Detective_ Wilde, is trying to say,” Judy interrupted, “is that we managed to identify a new suspect, but we still don’t have a motive.”

“No, and the only connection we have is that your attacker's victims worked for the same company,” Nick added on. “He could even try again.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Travis asked. “He slinked in quiet enough that I didn’t notice him until he was right on top of me. If it weren’t for Matt, I’d be dead! And Matt can’t stay here all the time to try and catch the guy! He works too!”

“What do you do, if you don’t mind my asking, Mr Gullo?” Judy asked.

“I’m an accountant.”

“Glamorous job,” Nick snorted.

“Nick, can you hold off the snark _for_ _just one minute?_ ” Judy scolded her partner, before turning back to Matt and Travis. “We’re going to need to arrange some form of protection.”

“What makes you think he won’t just slip past whoever you put at the front door?” Travis asked.

“He has a point,” Nick agreed.

Judy crossed her arms and thought about it. Her foot began tapping as she considered the options.

“I’ve got it!” Judy said, her foot giving a final stomp. “We put him into WitSec!”

“Great idea, Carrots,” Nick replied, “ _buuut_ … there’s a chance the perp might find him again if we do it here in the city.”

Judy thought about it for a moment.

“Travis, you still have family in Bunnyburrow, right?”

“Uh, yeah. My Ma still lives there.”

“Great! We send him to Bunnyburrow!” Nick said.

“And _who_ do we send to keep an eye over there?” Judy asked. “The Bunnyburrow Sheriff’s office aren’t exactly the finest.”

“Why, Carrots, did you just speak ill of fellow law enforcement?” Nick raised a quizzical eyebrow.

“She’s not wrong,” Travis interrupted. “The Bunnyburrow Sheriffs are pretty useless.”

“We’ll ask Bogo to assign a couple of officers from the ZPD, then,” Judy said.

******

_Bogo’s Temporary Office, Precinct Two_

“While I agree that placing Mr. Blackpaw into protective custody would be the best action, I do _not_ have Officers to spare right now.” Bogo huffed. “Especially if we’re sending him to Bunnyburrow.”

“But, sir… if he stays in the City, our perp might get to him again…” Judy began, before trailing off. Bogo‘s stare switched between Nick and Judy.

“Why do I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me?” Bogo questioned.

“Well…” Judy remarked. “Sir, the mammal who attacked Mr. Blackpaw and killed Victoria Ottertavius…”

“Out with it, Hopps,” Bogo was beginning to lose his patience.

“Would you believe us if we said that, _technically_ , you could say that Travis was attempting a twisted murder-suicide?” Nick said.

“You had better not be suggesting what I think you’re suggesting,” Bogo stared hard at Nick.

“Well, sir… see for yourself,” Judy placed the file she had retrieved from her cubicle in front of Bogo. Bogo put on his glasses to read it.

“It’s the same type of match as before,” Judy pointed out. “The DNA is a near-perfect match to Travis… Mr. Blackpaw, but he had an alibi. And… Nick ran that sample against a sample from our last case, and there was a tiny match. Like… some sort of marker.”

Bogo closed his eyes, put the file down on his desk and sat down, his hoof pinching the bridge of his muzzle.

“I’m going to need the extra-strength migraine medicine again,” Bogo groaned.

“Time travel makes my head hurt too,” Nick piped up.

“Shut your mouth, Wilde,” Bogo retorted half-heartedly.

“What we don’t know is _why_ ,” Judy replied. “In the past, these clones haven’t targeted individuals like this. Until we know more, we need to put Mr. Blackpaw into WitSec.”

Bogo let out an exhausted sigh. He opened his mouth to say something, and then the phone rang.

“Chief Bogo,” he answered. His brow furrowed as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the line.

“No, sir. Yes, sir. Understood, sir. But what about…? Yes, sir.”

With a grumble, Bogo ended the call and shoved the receiver down roughly.

“Hopps, Wilde…” Bogo said, looking down at them. “You’re off the investigation.”

“What? Why?!” Judy shouted.

“Who was that, Chief?” Nick asked in a more even tone.

“That was the Mayor. The ZIA has just pulled jurisdiction on our investigation. They claimed that an attack on scientists working on classified material falls under them and not us. We are to turn all materials over to an Agent who will arrive shortly.”

“But this is _our_ case, Chief!” Judy protested.

“It’s out of my hooves, Hopps,” Bogo gritted his teeth in irritation. “No matter how much I dislike the Agency pulling jurisdiction on us.”

“Well… what do we do now?” Nick asked.

Bogo huffed as he thought for a moment.

“We now have two free ZPD officers to escort Mr. Blackpaw to Bunnyburrow. I _trust_ that you would keep him safe?”

“Yes, sir, but…” Judy responded. “Protection detail isn’t usually a Detective’s job.”

“This is an unusual case,” Bogo replied. “And, quite frankly, I would rather have two mammals I can trust who know what’s going on than some ZIA upstart.”

******

_Within a day, we had packed, notified the Bunnyburrow Sheriff, and had ensured Travis was ready to go with us. In order to avoid being tailed, we opted to use the main railway out of Zootopia._

******

“Yeah, we’ll be on assignment in town for a few days.”

Judy was on the phone to her parents, explaining that she and Nick were on assignment in Bunnyburrow.

“ _Well, honey, you’re welcome to stay as long as you need. Nick, too,_ ” Bonnie replied. “ _We’ll meet you at the Station. We’ll even bring Juliah along!_ ”

“How’s she doing?” Judy asked.

“ _Well, she might look and sound like you, but she’s… kind of shy,_ ” Bonnie explained. “ _But she does want to see you and Nick._ ”

“Thanks, Mom, we’ll see you soon,” Judy smiled, before hanging up. She returned her phone to her pocket.

“Here’s the plan,” Judy leaned forward. “We’re going to drop you off at your Mother’s place. You can leave her home, but don’t go outside the town for any reason. And we’ll give you this,” Judy passed over a small phone, “in case something _does_ happen. Our numbers are programmed in, but if you don’t have time, there’s an app you can use that will ping our phones and we’ll come straight away.”

Travis studied the phone carefully.

“Did you find anything out about whoever it was that attacked me?” Travis asked. “Did he… was he the one who killed Victoria?”

“I’m sorry, Travis, but since it’s no longer our case, we can’t tell you,” Judy shook her head. “As for whether this was the mammal who killed Victoria, we believe so, we just don’t know _why_ , or why…”

“Why would he come after _me_?” Travis finished for her. “I know what I saw, Judy. That wasn’t just somebody who resembled me. It was like I was looking right into a mirror, or at a photo of myself. His _voice_ even sounded the same.”

Nick and Judy glanced at each other, as if silently communicating. Nick frowned and Judy nodded.

“Travis, before you go to your Mom’s house, there’s somebody I’d like you to meet,” Judy said.

******

_Being on the same wavelength as Carrots, it meant I knew what she had planned, and who she was referring to._

_There is only one Judy Hopps in this world. But there are two here that were made from her. One of those is sitting nice and snug in a cell in Mountainside, probably raving anti-predator sentiments alongside Smellwether. And the other, a freed slave, was living in Bunnyburrow with Carrots’ family._

_Carrots was going to have Travis meet Juliah._

******

The train pulled up at Bunnyburrow station and the doors opened.

“This is us,” Judy said, grabbing her suitcase. Nick and Travis followed suit. Waiting on the platform for them was Bonnie, Judy’s niece Cotton, and Juliah. Unlike Judy, it seemed Juliah took a liking to wearing dresses, as she was wearing a knee-length pink dress. She looked slightly bashful as Judy’s group approached. Nick noticed that Juliah’s eyes darted towards him and quickly darted away.

“Judy!” Bonnie’s outstretched arms beckoned and Judy closed the gap, embracing her mother.

“Hi, Mom,” Judy replied.

“Auntie Judy!” Cotton ran up to Judy, arms outstretched.

“Hey, Cotton!” Judy hugged her niece.

“Hi, Bonnie!” Nick stepped forward to give Bonnie a hug.

“Welcome back, Nick,” Bonnie returned the hug.

Travis stepped forward, drawing Bonnie’s attention.

“Travis Blackpaw,” Bonnie remarked. “I didn’t think I’d see you round these parts.”

“I, uh, have a busy job,” Travis replied.

“I heard,” Bonnie nodded. “Well, it’s a small world, and who would have thought that the two school bullies would have taken unexpected paths?”

“I don’t know what to say, Mrs. Hopps,” Travis answered. “I’m sorry for doing what I did when I was a kit. I guess I chose trying to make lives better in my own way as penance.”

“Well, I won’t hold it against you, you _were_ young. And the less violent of the two. But if Gideon can realise his mistakes, then there’s hope for us all.”

“Mom, I’ve already had this conversation with him, when I first interviewed him,” Judy interjected.

“Just making sure, Judy,” Bonnie tilted her head to the side. “Anyway, I’ve got the truck, so we can drop Travis off on the way back to the Burrow. That sound good?”

“Sounds fine, Mrs. Hopps,” Travis bowed his head.

“Mom, can me, Nick and Juliah travel in the back with Travis?” Judy asked.

“I’d have thought that you’d prefer riding up front, but that’s fine with me.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Judy smiled, reaching back to pick up her bag. The group clambered into the vehicle and set off.

“Who was it you wanted me to meet?” Travis asked.

“Travis, this is Juliah,” Judy indicated to the identical rabbit. Juliah shied away from Travis slightly, unsure of him.

“One of your sisters, or cousins?” Travis asked.

“No. Yet she looks exactly like I do… except the dress and the implant below her ear,” Judy explained. “Can you guess why that would be?”

Travis looked Juliah up and down for a moment in consideration.

“She’s as identical to you as… _he_ was to me, but… are you suggesting that Juliah’s not just a lookalike?”

“He’s getting warm,” Nick interrupted.

“Are you saying that she’s… she’s a _clone_?” Travis sat further forward.

“Getting close,” Nick exclaimed.

“But… that’s just not possible…” Travis shook his head. “She looks to be roughly the same age as you, but in order for that to be, she would have had to have been conceived around the same time you were.”

“She wasn’t conceived the same time I was,” Judy affirmed.

“If she wasn’t, then that would mean that some form of gene growth acceleration was involved,” Travis argued. “ _That_ kind of technology is years from being anything more than a theory!”

“One hundred years sound about right?” Nick interjected.

“But… but that’s _insane_! You’re implying that she _came from the future?!_ ”

“No implications here.”

“He’s right,” Judy added.

“But…” Juliah interjected in a tone that was more subdued than her donor. “Isn’t this a secret?”

“Normally, yes,” Judy nodded. “Juliah, it’s okay to tell him just this once.”

Judy reached out and placed a paw on Juliah to encourage her. Juliah looked at her for a moment, swallowed and then nodded, her eyes not meeting Travis as she spoke to him.

“Yeah…” Juliah nodded. “I’m from… one hundred years’ time.”

“This… this is just not…” Travis began.

“Possible?” Nick raised an eyebrow. “Sadly, it is.”

“Does that mean you’re saying that the ferret that attacked me _was my own clone from the future?_ ” Travis gripped his ears in distress.

“And bingo was his name-o!” Nick exclaimed. Judy elbowed him.

“It’s a lot to take in, I know,” Judy affirmed. “It took me some getting used to as well when the same thing happened to me. What we don’t know is _why_.”

“I would like to know why anybody would want to clone _me_ in the first place,” Travis shook his head. “It doesn’t make any sense! I’m just a scientist working on something for the good of mammalkind.”

“Maybe that’s why?” Judy offered.

“But that doesn’t explain why my own clone would want me dead, or why he would kill poor Victoria! None of this makes sense!”

“Time travel doesn’t make sense,” Nick agreed.

The truck pulled up outside a small house.

“Well… this is me,” Travis remarked shakily. He picked his bag up, clambered out of the truck, and ambled up the doorstep. The three of them watched as Travis knocked on the door. Travis’ mother, an elderly ferret, opened the door and hugged her son. As the door shut behind them, Bonnie started driving again.

“Well, that went well,” Nick piped up, earning a stare from Judy. “Just one question: _why_ did we need to tell him?”

“He’s going to ask questions sooner or later, so we might as well get the answers out of the way,” Judy replied. “And… I’m sorry for bringing you into this Juliah…”

“It’s okay…” Juliah mumbled, trying not to meet Judy’s eyes.

“But he probably wouldn’t have believed the story unless he could see that he wasn’t the only one who had that experience.”

“Carrots, I appreciate that, but couldn’t we have broken it to him a bit more _gently_?” Nick asked. “He’s already been attacked by himself. It’s a bit much to throw on top of that so soon after.”

“Okay, I’m sorry! Geez!”

“You’re one impulsive bunny, but that’s one of the reasons I like you.”

“You dumb fox,” Judy chuckled.

“You know you love me.”

“Darned right, pardner,” Judy replied in an attempt at a country accent.

“And you said _my_ accents were bad,” Nick guffawed. Judy laughed in response.

Juliah averted her eyes as the two teased each other.

******

_And so began our mission to keep Travis safe. I would have loved to know what the ZBI thought it was doing – we have the most experience with time travel incidents, so it would have made sense to keep us in the loop. It wouldn’t be the first time that a federal agency has stuck its snout in, but you know what they say. Be careful, because something might try and bite that snout off._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that brings an end to this chapter! I will say that chapters will probably be slower from here on out for the next few months – I have my final university project to contend with. But I will try to update when I can.
> 
> So, until next time!


End file.
